Not only is this series history, but the Braves have carved out their piece of baseball history with their latest mound domination. There is no doubt they will be the Kings of Queens and the National League.
As Bobby Cox walked out of Shea Stadium Friday night, victory cigar in hand after a 1-0 masterpiece over the Mets, he had the chance to reflect on his staff’s eternal place in the game.
“I think this staff is making history,” Cox told The Post. “All the playoffs they’ve been. No other staff has been in that many years. I mean, there was Whitey Ford and the boys, they were in it for so long, they had new [pitchers] coming in, but this staff will go down in history. It will.”
Cox will get no argument from Bobby Valentine, who has now suffered 4-2, 4-3 and 1-0 losses in this heartbreak hotel of a series. When he was asked of the Braves’ place in history, he responded, “I don’t think we have to wait for historians. Braves pitchers are as good as there is in any era, in any decade.”
Consider this number, Mets fans: In 27 innings pitched against the Braves, the Braves have allowed three earned runs. That breaks down to a 1.00 ERA. As Bobby Bonilla would say, “Smooth.”
Mets pitchers post a tremendous 2.88 ERA in the series and their team is down 0-3. The beauty of this game is that it never changes. You pitch better than the other guys, you go home with the “W.” You can nit-pick all you want over the Mets performance and Valentine’s moves but the bottom line is the Braves can’t be beaten when they pitch like this. The only bats that seem up to the task are those of the Yankees. They can make dust of any staff.
It was Tom Glavine Friday night who worked seven magnificent shutout innings, surrendering one walk, striking out eight and seven harmless singles. Then came lefty Mike Remlinger for a perfect eighth and Mets-killer John Rocker for the save in the ninth. Neither reliever allowed a hit.
Cox was impressed with Glavine’s performance. “It’s a grueling season,” he said. “You start in spring training and then have the entire season and you’re expected to win. They’re in a category where they are expected to throw shutouts every night and it’s not humanly possible. But it’s amazing to see what they do in the playoffs.”
It was up to John Smoltz to close out the Mets last night in a duel with Rick Reed. As the Mets took the field for 4 o’clock batting practice they looked relaxed, in their hearts knowing this series is over, they seemed at peace with their season. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit.
Overlooked in Cox’s brilliant move of bringing in Smoltz to save Game 2 after Rocker struck out the two batters he faced in the eighth was the fact that by bringing in Smoltz on his throw day, he was able to keep Rocker fresh for a Game 3. That move paid off Friday night as Rocker nailed his second save of the series. When you don’t have to extend your closer, a team can extend it’s postseason life span.
Mike Piazza’s teams have been hounded by the Braves for most of the decade – first the Dodgers and now the Mets – and Piazza was asked what his thoughts of the Braves staff will be when he is old and gray. Piazza, who had a most painful night catching, chuckled a bit and said, “What can you say. Every one of their accomplishments speaks for itself. I think you look at that ballclub and you wonder why they haven’t won two or three more World Series. They have won a lot of pennants, a lot of divisions. I think there is nothing wrong with looking at them as a huge hurdle we have to get over. I’m not ending the season, but they set the standard. They are the class of the league.”
History will record that.